The Best Combination
by Simply Marina
Summary: Journals, necklaces, and riddles are a good combination for Maggie Winnock. This one-shot is in Maggie's point-of-view. Jaggie.


It's been awhile for me to write… so could you drop me a review after reading? It would be greatly appreciated. This is my first Unnatural History fanfic (Jaggie).

* * *

Henry, Jasper, and I padded down the staircase. We reached the entryway, and Henry picked my sweater off the coat rack and helped me into it.

"Thanks, Henry," I smiled. "Who knew you were such a gentlemen?" For a cave boy, at least he had some manners.

"I try," Henry acknowledged with a grin. Out of the corner of my eye, Jasper looked appalled.

"You know, that's the exact kind of gentleman I like," I commented while zipping the sweater up. "Someone who isn't afraid to be an individual with a little etiquette." I readjusted my messenger bag on my shoulder and twisted the gleaming brass doorknob on the front of the house. "Well, see you both tomorrow," I said and hustled down the stone steps to greet my ride. The night air was cool and calm.

"Bye Maggie," Henry chorused.

"See ya, Mags," Jasper waved. I walked down the driveway to catch my ride. He shut the front door as soon as I got into the Jeep.

I waved and unfastened my dad's midnight black Jeep door. While I hopped in, threw my bag in the backseat, and closed the door, my dad asked a question that caught me off guard.

"Who is the brunette boy?" asked Dad leisurely. He twisted the key and the engine roared to life.

"Huh?" I questioned.

"The boy with the brown eyes and hair?" He rephrased. We started driving.

"Oh, Jasper. That's Jasper Bartlett," I answered sheepishly. I could feel a fuchsia tint bursting onto my cheeks. I subtly rolled down the window of the shotgun and let the wind cool my face down. This was absolutely not a good time to blush.

"Bartlett? Your principal's son?" He asked.

"Um… yeah. I was studying with him and his cousin Henry," I said, trying to change the topic. It worked. My dad was soon interested in the exotic places Henry had lived.

Five minutes later, the Jeep rolled into the paved driveway of my house. I thankfully jumped out of the car and grabbed my bag. "Thanks for the ride dad. I gotta finish studying for my history exam." My dad nodded and let me run into the house, up the stairs to my room.

Okay, I know that was a little white lie, but I wanted to go to my room and lock the door. Avoiding dad was the best way to avoid talking about Jasper. After safely landing in my room, I attempted to take of my necklace with the journal key hanging off of it, but I realized it was in Jasper and Henry's bathroom. I had taken it off for dinner.

"Darn it," I cursed quietly.

At least they didn't have the journal though. They wouldn't be able to open anything without the journal.

My sister had given me my journal when I was ten, and said to write in it every day. This was before she went to college, before my mother divorced, and before everything went wrong. I had promised to write in it during the nights, but my high school schedule begged to differ. So I just brought it everywhere, even to work and the mall. It had actually done me good. It was like my favorite thing…books. They always were faithful, the same, the usual no matter where I went. I could hide in my room fill with books and live a happy live knowing the fairytale endings always stayed the same. They never changed.

I immediately dumped the contents of my bag out onto the bed. Okay, so I know it wasn't an organized thing to do at the time, but I needed to get my journal out and start writing in it, pronto. My folders and notebooks were tossed right and left, till my journal was… not found. I searched again and again. Where did it go? Then panic hit me.

It was at the Bartlett's.

"Dad? Can we go back to Henry and Jasper's?" I shouted while on top of my bed.

"Maggie, it's already nine. You can get it back at school tomorrow. Whatever it is, it can wait," He yelled back.

I argued with him mentally. _No, it can't wait. Henry will find the key, Jasper will find the journal. Henry will open it and start reading, then he'll call Jasper over when they figure out who I like! _

I'd better get some sleep. Tomorrow is gonna be a _long_ day.

* * *

My alarm on my phone went off with some music while sunlight was peeking through my balcony windows. I smiled and jumped out of bed to open the curtains. Rays poured into my room and I grabbed my clothing and headed to my bathroom.

I slipped on a pair of jeans, sky blue t-shirt, and a cropped jacket. I also put on some stud earrings and was going to put my key necklace on when I recalled the incident last night… _shoot. _

After grasping my messenger bag and almost flying down the stairs. I found a note on top of the counter. It read:

_I will be at an important air-force drill today. It may last a little under 48 hours, but you have everything you need. Call me with any emergencies on my cell. Sincerely, Dad_

"Whatever," I grumbled to myself. Let me explain.

This was definitely not the first morning where I wake up and realize that dad is gone. He has work practically the entire day, so it would be natural for me to not see him often. I wish I was a normal teenager though. He could be there in the mornings to give me a ride to school, and then go to his work. He and I could go see midnight premieres at the movie theaters, and even have a secret handshake. Trust me, it sounds stupid… but you never realize what you have till it's gone. And my dad was gone a lot. So I would probably just work on extra-credit assignments tonight, maybe watch the new episode of America's Most Wanted if I had time. Or, being influenced by two people (who are usually bound to find some mysterious tremors and go investigate a three in the morning at the Smithson), I could go see what Henry and Jasper are up to. That'd be fun.

So after a "delightful" breakfast of cereal, I locked up the house and walked to my bus stop. Actually, it was most of a sprint, because I could see the bus coming up the road to my stop. Katya Cattleman, Goth girl and (dare I say it) friend of mine, was already waiting.

"You almost missed the bus," she noted as the yellow vehicle pulled to a stop.

"Long story," I muttered, hoping it would pass by her. But of course, me being strange girl I was, she shook her head with disapproval.

"Let me guess. Dad's gone?" Asked Katya. The slim doors opened and I walked to my usual spot. Seat 16, on the left… the same seat where I met Jasper. I rolled my eyes at the memory.

"Yup," I answered. She went to sit at her spot in the back seat.

The bus continued to go through stops, each one bringing more kids than the last. I had memorized the route (don't ask, I was bored). Winter St. and Chestnut Hill Dr. were next. Then, explorer boy and his academically skilled cousin would board.

The driver skidded to a halt at Maple Rd. First, Henry boarded with Jasper straight behind him. The blond sat across from me. Jasper signaled me to move over, so he and I could sit side by side.

"You know the drill," I commented. He slid past me so he would get the window seat. We always sat like this, even before Henry came. I don't know why, but it just happened on a regular basis.

"I believe you both have to give me something?" I questioned.

"What?" Henry cocked his head, confused.

I raised my eyebrows, not buying his innocent gesture. "My necklace? And my notebook?"

There was a shuffling noise next to me, and Jasper fished out my necklace from his bag, and then took the notebook out too. A sigh escaped my lips.

"Thank you," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to catch up on my chemistry notes." And with that, I speeded down the hall to the library. I checked my schedule and turns out, I had free period for the first two blocks. I spent the first block writing about my "wonderful" life (please note that I was sarcastic, intentionally putting quotes around wonderful).

**Dear Journal,**

**I still feel stupid. A valedictorian student shouldn't have to write in a journal to vent her feelings for anything or anyone in a notebook. My dad **_**still**_** thinks it will help me with my lack of sociality**. **Really? I only do it for my sister and I just choose my academic performance over popularity, clothing, and gossip. **

**Speaking of dad, he is gone… again. Doesn't family time mean anything to him? I'm not even going to waste my time rambling.**

**Seriously, if this was my world, there would be no need for brand name stores. Don't know what I'm talking about? Hello and welcome to Hollister! Need a flashlight? Come to Abercrombie! Make sure you bring a gas mask!**

**Good thing he-who-must-not-be-named (just to clear this up, it's not Lord Voldemort) doesn't care about clothing. All I get are hand-me-downs from my sister. By the way, I miss him, a lot. I hope he plucks up the courage to ask me again. Why was I so stupid? I could've said yes. Nowadays, it seems like life is slowing down. Maybe that's just me. I'm kind of tired right now…probably from worrying about losing this. I hope the boys were too stupid to figure out how to open this thing and read it. **

A bell rang and I paused for a moment, recalling that second free period was also the one that Henry and Jasper had together.

**Well, they should be coming any minute. I think I'll wrap this up.**

The library doors opened again and I expected to see two boys. Instead, it was Jessica Lewis, one of the most popular girls in school.

**Oh, great. It's beauteous, blond bombshell Jessica. Why did it have to be her, out of all people? I can barely stand her. She never does school work. She copies people, with her stupid posse following her over straightened bleach blond hair. Why is she even wearing those trashy daisy dukes that show the pockets? She should know it's against dress code! And that low cut top doesn't even—you know what? Forget it. I'm not going to waste my writing time on Jessica.**

"Wow," a familiar voice said from behind me, "You sure do write a lot."

I turned around and saw the boys standing behind me. "You can sit down, you know."While they sat, I quickly signed my name.

**Sincerely, Maggie Victoria Winnock.**

Tossing their bags onto the table, Henry wanted to know more. "So… who is he-who-must-not-be-named?"

"That's Lord Vold—wait… did you read this last night?" I questioned. My eyes darkened.

"For the record, it was all Henry," Jasper said with a grin.

"So… what do you know?" I asked. _I'm going to be calm… in a library… otherwise; I'd yell the crap out of those two._

"You like someone who must not be named?" Jasper answered. His smug smile remained.

"That's it?" I questioned.

"That's the only thing we're interested in, Mags," said Henry.

"I'm not telling," I told them.

Well, if anything, this would all result in some way or another. Best case scenario, he'd like me too, all we'd fall in love, living happily ever after. Yeah, that's likely, I've gotta shake that idea off. Then, if I didn't tell, he would just keep pestering me. I could live with that, I guess. Worst case, I'd tell and he wouldn't want to be friends with me because I'm just the creepy smart girl that turned him down.

"I have a compromise," I said.

"I'm listening," said Henry.

"I give you a riddle to figure out who it is," I explained. "That way, you'll stop pestering me, but you'll slowly be figuring it out. Deal?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Jasper confirmed. I smiled.

After jotting down eleven lines, I quickly reviewed what I'd written.

**I hope you don't mind this riddle.**

**Literally, I don't want to tell you his name.**

**In my life, things aren't always fair. That's why I'm making it hard for you to figure this out.**

**Knowledge is key when it comes to mind games like this.**

**Everyone can't know. I would prefer you keep it secretive if you find out.**

**Just figure this out by lunch, okay?**

**And if you have guesses, I'll let you know if they're correct.**

**So, I think my next class is Science.**

**Please hurry up and figure this out. I need to get to chemistry.**

**Everything, including this, has an answer. **

**Remember, riddles are quite simple!**

I handed them a piece of ripped notebook paper and grinned when Jasper read it aloud. I couldn't help but laugh at their puzzled faces.

"I got to go to Science now… good luck," I laughed and walked out of the library.

Lunch, finally! I hope they didn't figure anything out yet. On my way to the cafeteria, Henry found me and we walked together.

"I know who it is," He stated blandly.

"Well… who?" I asked. I could feel a tint of red start to come onto my cheeks.

"Is his initials J.B.?" He wondered.

"Yeah," I muttered. There was a sudden spark of interest in my shoes.

"Jasper. You like Jasper," noted Henry.

"Well…" I started, searching for the words. Just then, my savior of the moment came up to join us at our table.

"Hey guys! What's up?" Jasper asked as we all sat down.

"The initials of Maggie's crush are J.B," Henry told him.

"Justin Beiber?" Jasper asked.

I laughed. "No, this guy has already hit puberty."

"Who is that?" Henry questioned.

"He is a teenage singer that a lot of girls are obsessed with. They call it Beiber fever," I explained.

"Jonas Brothers?" Jasper tried.

"No, and technically their initials are NJ, KJ, or JJ," I said.

"Wait a minute… Mags, can I talk to you privately?" asked Jasper, uneasily.

"I guess so…" I replied.

You know that feeling in your stomach when you know something majorly awkward or embarrassing is about to happen? I just got that feeling.

I followed him to a quiet area near the caf. After he turned around, Jasper shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I want you to know that…" He started off. "… I can't say this," He muttered. He put his hand behind his neck, and took a deep breath. "I—I…" He tried again.

"You can tell me. I don't bite, you know," I said.

"I know that…" He smiled faintly. "Okay, I'm going to tell you. Right here, right now."

"Okay. I'm listening," I smiled, eager to hear his voice.

"I—um… still have feelings… for you?" He said, though it sounded more like a question to me.

I smiled, and placed my arms around his neck, and hugged him, like my life depended on it.

"J.B. is you," I explained.

"J.B. … Jasper Bartlett," He figured. Jasper wrapped his arms around my waist. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I was scared…"

"Of what?"

"That you didn't like me anymore…"

"But why wouldn't I like you?"

"`Cause I rejected you," I explained.

"Well, now that that's over with, do you want to get some ice-cream afterschool?" Questioned Jasper.

"Like a date. I'd love to," I comprehended.

"Great!" He sounded immensely relieved.

And then, with all the courage I could muster, I kissed him. I gasped as sweet, soft lips pressed against my own. He was gentle… but this kiss had hidden meaning. I felt how much he wanted this, his desire, dreams, my lips felt like they were sparking with the anticipation. I needed to see his reaction. So I slowly pulled away.

"Wow," He gasped, breathless. I smiled with satisfaction, and he mirrored my ecstatic grin.

"Well?" I asked.

"That kind of made up for the rejection," he smiled.

"I was hoping so," I said. "Lunch is almost over."

"Let's go," Jasper said. He took my hand, and I laced his fingers through mine.

"I could get used to this," I told him, as we walked back to the lunch table.

"Me too, Mags," He agreed.


End file.
